An artificial surface suitable for contact by a human foot or other body part tends to lack the flexibility of a natural turf or other desired surface. Any activity or occupation, which requires long periods of standing or moving on foot, is enhanced by a reasonable flexibility of the surface. This reasonable flexibility can add to a person's reasonable endurance and minimize injury.
An artificial surface usually lacks the flexibility of a grass covered surface. This lack of flexibility can cause injury even if the contact with the surface is merely walking or standing.
Artificial surfaces, commonly known as artificial turf, are routinely used for playing surfaces on baseball field, a football field, or another playing surface. One difficulty in this artificial turf occurs because of the surface on which the turf must be mounted. This surface lacks the resiliency of grass and can many times cause injury to the players.
Typical injuries caused by an artificial surface occur to a knee or to a toe. There is even a vernacularly named disease call “turf toe”, which refers to a big toe injury caused by artificial turf. What is desired is the provision of a surface with the required durability, while adding thereto the necessary flexibility for the surface in order to avoid the damage caused to knees or toes, or to an athlete in general.
Compensating for the lack of water by an artificial turf surface is difficult. Each artificial surface is different. Differences include variances in the length and the terrain.
While an artificial surface does not soak, or absorb water, as a grass surface does, it is sometimes difficult to remove the water from the surface. Pushing the water off of the surface is time consuming and difficult. Clearly, a simpler method of removing water from the surface is desired.
It is highly desirable to combine safety, flexibility and durability of a grass field with the cleaning and drying ability and ease of maintenance of artificial turf. If these two factors can be combined, the advantages of artificial turf become very clear.
Furthermore, it is also desirable to provide the comfort underfoot for a person who must stand for a long period. Standing on a hard surface can induce fatigue and injuries. This fatigue can interfere with that person doing the desired work. Reduction of fatigue and injuries creates a great advantage.
A surface that requires repeated impact, a long period of standing, a flexible, durable, easily cleaned surface is also highly desirable. An artificial surface can provide fatigue reduction for a person with the surface being easily cleaned and having improved durability.
Baseball and softball pitchers of all ages from, developmental leagues (park districts, etc) little league, pony league, high school, college, professional including major and minor leagues are subject to injuries from landing incorrectly on a pictures mound. The pitcher's lead foot through the pitching stride makes repetitive impacts on hard dirt or other hard surfaces. A pitcher's lead foot often slips increasing the chance of groin pulls or ankle, knee or hip injuries or shin splints. A pitcher's back foot makes repetitive movements off the pitching rubber also causing injuries. Many hours of practice on real pitching mounds construct of dirt and stand often leads to injures and aggravates such injuries.
This it is desirable to provide an artificial surface that solved some of the problems described above.